other way round.

Hi i haven't posted in a while but i found a british expat site. unfortunantly someone picked a fight with me for no reason and i reacted badly and got baned and the person who started it got away scot free so i came back to where i know that i would never be treated the way i was there. 

Anyway i have decided that when i leave school (it's nearly there i turned 15 last tuesday!!!yay!!!) that i am interested in midwifery but i understand that there are few midwifes in America as the doctor usually does this. Is this true?

Lucy xx

Hi Lucy. 

Midwifery is definetely more the norm here in the UK than in the US.  The majority of people in the US do have their babies in hospital with ob/gyns.  However, that isn't to say there aren't any midwives there at all or that no one uses them!  If you're looking to immigrate to the US based on this though, I think it might be rather difficult.

Good luck! 

If you're looking to immigrate to the US based on this though, I think it might be rather difficult.

I would second that.  I'm looking into midwifery here in the UK, but I don't know if I'd be able to turn it into a career if we ever moved back to the States.  It's a very niche market and there's not a huge amount of demand for midwives in the US.  Also, and this is just a generalisation, I feel that midwives aren't afforded the same respect in the US that they are here.  The US birthing process is very clinical for the most part -- people feel comfortable with doctors and many people look upon midwifery as, well, not necessarily "quack" science, but as something hippies or rich people go for. 

I'm only chiming in on this because a professional midwife association happens to be located near where one of my sisters lives. 

http://www.midwife.org/edu/foreign_educated_midwives.cfm

Jim

I'm only chiming in on this because a professional midwife association happens to be located near where one of my sisters lives. 

http://www.midwife.org/edu/foreign_educated_midwives.cfm

Jim

Good link, Jim!  Gonna bookmark that one!

Anyway i have decided that when i leave school (it's nearly there i turned 15 last tuesday!!!yay!!!) that i am interested in midwifery but i understand that there are few midwifes in America as the doctor usually does this. Is this true?

I don't have any statistics about midwives in the US, but I do know that I have a couple of friends over there who used midwives when they gave birth. And one of those friends is an MD herself!

Where I lived in Michigan, midwives were really popular - at least in my area. I think it is growing in popularity. When I gave birth in Cambridge UK, I was surprised that the first midwife to great me was a (at least!) 6 foot 6 man from Detroit!! Not what I expected! We have a brief chat about US midwife students doing a lot of training in the UK since it is so much more a part of UK society, but he was going to move back to the US to practice one he was done with his training.

wow thats all great. i thougfht i had read somewhere that midwives were becoming more popular. Thank you all that replied!

Lucy xx